Friday 12 October 2012

'Soft Machine' by John F King


Midlife now, I’m listening to the first LP I ever bought – snap, crackle, pop .
Dwelling on how I was forced to become a teacher ‘cos I couldn’t play piano like the band’s keyboard player, you know the guy who wore sunglasses even in Ronnie’s basement at 3 A.M.
My first girlfriend hated them but I loved her with magnanimity.  Stuck together for a record 8 years but we broke up before the band did: musical differences.

What was their first and only single? I remember:  ‘Love Makes Sweet Music’
Reached 99 in the Melody Maker / Billboard top 100. Cool, wouldn’t want a sell-out would we, man. Only I get it, of course.

The time signatures were as crazy as the times – 13/4, 17/ 8.
They were never big in Vienna either.

Got F’ed up, funked up that is, 1978 if I recall rightly, same as we all did, nothing wrong in that.

Started dancing again in the 90s, different girl, ¾ this time.
We were at evening classes in the windowless hall. Funny, bloke there, one of those types you can’t make out how old they are, waltzes in, dances to his own tune, never takes his sunglasses off  all evening. Funny that…in the windowless hall, in the middle of the evening, in the middle of the year, in the middle of…

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